The invention relates to an electric dry-shaving apparatus, which comprises:
A housing, PA1 An electric drive motor, PA1 One or more external shear plates, PA1 An internal cutting member cooperating with each shear plate and adapted to be driven by the electric motor; PA1 A cutting plate frame supports the external shear plates and is connected to the housing. PA1 A readily accessible adjusting member is movable transverse to a height adjusting means of a skin-tightening means and cooperates with the latter means, and a number of sloping surfaces around the shear plate frame with the skin-tightening means and the adjusting member cooperate with one another.
Such an electric dry-shaving apparatus is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,160. In this known apparatus the shear plate frame consists of a substantially conical plastic member which is rigidly connected to the apparatus housing. The shear plates are mounted in three round openings of a substantially plate-shaped shear plate mount, which is slightly depressable and which is connected to the skin-tightening means by small bent wire springs. Thus, when removed, the skin-tightening means and the said shear plate mount which contains the shear plates and the cutters as well as a locking plate for the shear plates and the cutters form one coherent assembly. Said assembly is fitted onto the shear plate frame, and by means of spring-loaded levers which are disposed in the shaving apparatus and which extend through recesses in the side rim of the shear plate frame, it can cooperate with cams which are disposed at the inside of the skin-tightening means. Owing to the pressure exerted by the spring-loaded levers the skin-tightening means is pressed onto an annular adjusting member, which is disposed at the underside of the shear plate frame concentric with the skin-tightening means. The pressure which is exerted on the skin-tightening means by the spring-loaded levers, is imparted to the housing of the shaving apparatus via the annular adjusting member. On the housing, sloping surfaces are provided which serve for moving the skin-tightening means to and fro, which sloping surfaces co-operate with cam-shaped protrusions of the skin-tightening ring. Thus, turning the skin-tightening ring causes it to move to and fro, which movement is imparted to the resiliently loaded skin tightening means. The cams with which the skin tightening means co-operates with the spring-loaded levers also serve for adjustably supporting the skin-tightening means. In each position of the skin-tightening, the mount of the shear plates is pressed against the shear plate frame by the wire springs. Thus, when the skin-tightening means is moved to and fro the distance between the top edge of the skin-tightening means and the shear plates will vary. To remove the skin-tightening means and thus the mount with the shear plates, means are provided which ensure that the spring-loaded levers are rotated about their pivots in such a way that the assembly can be removed. Such a provision is necessary so as to allow the shear plates and the hair chamber therebeneath to be cleaned.
Said known construction requires a comparatively large number of components and takes up much space. The cost price of a dry-shaving apparatus may therefore be adversely affected, while moreover the styling of the apparatus should comply with certain requirements which are not always desirable.